Your Sorting Hat: On invisible status games, getting more and your life documentary
Career Tuesday
Careers, Life and Questions (Jun 10, 2025)
Wish you a Happy Career Tuesday!
3 Career Ideas
I.
"Don’t play invisible status games.
If you’re working long hours to impress someone who hasn’t even noticed—or worse, doesn’t care—you’re trapped in a status loop, not a growth loop.
Instead, define your own scoreboard:
→ Am I learning?
→ Am I solving meaningful problems?
→ Am I becoming the person I want to be?
Free yourself from status signals. Anchor to impact."
II.
"Design your own learning loop.
Here’s the simplest model:
→ Do the thing.
→ Watch what worked.
→ Tweak one thing next time.
Most people skip the last step. That’s where the compound growth is.
Build a micro-habit: After every major task, take 2 minutes to write:
“What did I just learn?"
III.
"Be your own career editor.
Every week, edit one thing in your career:
→ Rewrite a sentence in your resume.
→ Polish one email thread.
→ Say “no” to one obligation you’ve outgrown.
Small edits, made consistently, reshape the story you’re telling the world—and yourself."
2 Life Quotes from Books
I.
Author and entrepreneur Derek Sivers, on getting more from life and work:
"He taught me that “the standard pace is for chumps” — that the system is designed so anyone can keep up. If you’re more driven than most people, you can do way more than anyone expects. And this principle applies to all of life, not just school."
Source: Book: Hell Yeah or No by Derek Sivers
II.
Actor Ethan Hawke, on creativity and courage:
"You have to ask yourself, ‘Do you think human creativity matters?’ Because if the answer is yes, then you have to try to do it. There is no path until you walk it."
Source: Book: TeD Talk by Ethan Hawke
1 Question
If a documentary crew followed you around this week, what story would your life be telling?
Is it the story you want to live—or one you’ve just fallen into?
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Until next week,
Devashish Chakravarty
Author of YourSortingHat
Columnist for Careers at The Economic Times